Right Arrow Emoji
A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps.
Try Right Arrow emoji
Edit the text, then change the size.
Meaning & usage
What does the Right Arrow emoji mean?
A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps.
Purely functional. It carries no feeling at all, which is exactly why it survives in workflows, comparisons and step-by-step notes where an emotive symbol would be a distraction.
How to use ➡️ naturally
Process steps, before-and-after notation and navigation hints.
Reaction symbols work like visual emphasis: they reinforce a word, rate an idea or replace a short response. Repetition normally increases intensity, but it can also make a message feel more performative.
From standard to slang
The history of ➡️
- 2010
First defined as emoji
According to Unicode’s Emoji Versions data, Right Arrow was first defined as emoji in Emoji 0.6, dated 2010. That label is retrospective: Unicode applied it later to the early mobile core it inherited from the Japanese carriers.
- Before the keyboard
Its visual roots
A solid arrow pointing right. It is an ordinary typographic arrow that predates emoji and still needs a variation selector to render in colour.
- Today
How its use evolved
Process steps, before-and-after notation and navigation hints.
Dates follow Unicode’s official Emoji Versions chart. Versions before Emoji 1.0 are labelled retrospectively. See the history of emoji.
In conversation
Examples of ➡️ in messages
These examples show the emoji in complete messages, where the words make its intended tone easier to read.
Draft ➡️ review ➡️ published
Take the second exit ➡️ then follow the signs
Old plan ➡️ new plan, same deadline
When to use it
Using ➡️ clearly
Process steps, before-and-after notation and navigation hints. It lands as right arrow emoji or ➡️ meaning when the rest of the message supports that reading, and it is the surrounding words that do the deciding — so in a sensitive, professional or cross-cultural conversation, say the thing outright as well.
Common questions
About the right arrow emoji
What does ➡️ mean in a text message?
A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps. Purely functional. It carries no feeling at all, which is exactly why it survives in workflows, comparisons and step-by-step notes where an emotive symbol would be a distraction.
Is ➡️ always positive?
Not always. Its usual readings are right arrow emoji, ➡️ meaning, arrow emoji, and irony or the relationship between the people can flip any of them.
Why does ➡️ look different on another device?
U+27A1 U+FE0F identifies the emoji; the picture is a font, drawn separately by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. Only the artwork changes, never the character.
How do I copy and paste the right arrow emoji?
Use the copy button at the top of this page. ➡️ is a character, not an image, so it pastes into messages, captions and filenames as ordinary text.
When was the right arrow emoji introduced?
Unicode’s Emoji Versions data first records ➡️ as emoji in Emoji 0.6, dated 2010. Early emoji version numbers can be retrospective, so this date describes its place in the standardised emoji set rather than the first-ever appearance of the underlying symbol.
Easily confused
➡️ compared with similar emoji
These sit close enough in meaning that people reach for the wrong one. Here is what actually separates them.
Right Arrow or Left Arrow?
A deliberate pair. Used together ➡️ and ⬅️ show a two-way relationship; used alone ➡️ almost always means the next step.
Right Arrow or Counterclockwise Arrows Button?
➡️ moves forward once. 🔄 goes round again, so one advances a process and the other repeats it.
For developers
➡️ in code
Every value below is generated from the character itself, so it stays correct even where a file encoding cannot hold the emoji directly.
| Format | Value | When to use it | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+27A1 U+FE0F | The standard reference. Use it to search a character map or a spec. | |
| HTML (hex) | ➡️ | For HTML and XML. Safe in files that are not saved as UTF-8. | |
| HTML (decimal) | ➡️ | The same reference in decimal. Both render identically. | |
| CSS | \27A1 \FE0F | For the content property. Keep the quotes around the whole value. | |
| JavaScript | \u{27A1}\u{FE0F} | A string-literal escape. Needs the u flag inside a regular expression. | |
| URL-encoded | %E2%9E%A1%EF%B8%8F | Percent-encoded UTF-8, for query strings and API requests. |
Reference card
Emoji details
- Unicode
- U+27A1 U+FE0F
- Category
- Symbols & Reactions
- Also known as
- right arrow emoji➡️ meaningarrow emoji
Keep browsing